Loads of Litter

GBF is partnering with CurrentCast to share information they develop with other partners about water stewardship and sustainability in the Great Lakes and surrounding watersheds.

Loads of litter in the lakes… On this CurrentCast.Water bottles, plastic bags, and straws tossed on the sidewalks of lakeshore cities may be headed on a long, wet journey.Hoffman: “For coastal communities, somewhere between 15 and 40 percent of that mismanaged waste will end up in the water system.”In one year alone, the plastic that enters lake Michigan could fill a hundred Olympic size swimming pools.Plastic can be deadly to birds, turtles and fish, so keeping litter off the streets is not just an aesthetic issue. Clean streets are good for aquatic systems, too.

CurrentCast is a project of the Center for Transformative Action based at Cornell University. CurrentCast is produced in partnership with Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. The Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University provides scientific content support and reviews all editorial ideas. CurrentCast is produced in partnership with Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.CurrentCast content is owned by ChavoBart Digital Media, Inc. Learn more online at CurrentCast.org.

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Interesting Links and Projects

1. GBF Project: mitigating microfiber plastic pollution. Learn more
2. Contact Lenses - a source of microplastics in water Learn more
3. Where does plastic go in the Great Lakes? Learn more